Game #67: Toronto Raptors 116 - Brooklyn Nets 102

[Mitch P]

Why is everyone so concerned about cap room? Have shares in Rogers and Bell?

I do and intend to vote at the next shareholders meeting to allow the Raptors unlimited luxury tax.

[Mitch P]

Lowry played a lot better than he's being credit for by anyone. All people seem to notice is how many 3's he bricks. Hit JV with more than a few nice passes and never turned the ball over once. I must be watching a different game than everyone else.

The other thing that people neglect is that Kyle is a leader. He's been a huge influence on FVV and I don't think it would be at all the same team without him; even though I agree that he's lost a step. The question now is whether he can maintain his confidence into the playoffs. I somehow feel that with these young guys behind him that he's going to play inspired basketball.

[KeonClark]

The CFL is a joke, period. The rest of the country just doesn't get it.

I wish I could downvote shit like this

[inthepaint]

The Nets put up a fight on this one, but this was a victory for Basketball as much as it was for the raps. If "basketball" could speak, it would say: "Listen up Spencer Dim-witted & Co. you can't oversimplify me! You can't come in with a one-horse strategy of just jacking up 3s and hope for the best, because the other team will adjust to that mid-game, and you'll have nothing else.."

I like the 3-ball as part of the overall game, but I find it silly when teams just put 5 smalls on the perimeter just hoisting them up, like wtf? If you overdo it, you'll lose it. The raps proved that today, and the more balanced team won again.

[KeonClark]

The Nets put up a fight on this one, but this was a victory for Basketball as much as it was for the raps. If "basketball" could speak, it would say: "Listen up Spencer Dim-witted & Co. you can't oversimplify me! You can't come in with a one-horse strategy of just jacking up 3s and hope for the best, because the other team will adjust to that mid-game, and you'll have nothing else.."

I like the 3-ball as part of the overall game, but I find it silly when teams just put 5 smalls on the perimeter just hoisting them up, like wtf? If you overdo it, you'll lose it. The raps proved that today, and the more balanced team won again.

It really is a bizarre strategy. They looked like one of those d league teams experimenting.

[Hotshot]

The Raptors are just 1 game back of the Golden State Warriors if you include both conferences. How crazy is that?!

[3inthekeon]

This headline from last nights game recap reminds me of the famous Dennis Green quote.

ESPN is who we thought they were.

Valciunas scores 26, Raptors beat Nets for 9th straight win

[KHD]

man what the hell happened to norman powell?

all this guy had to do was be the exact same player he was last year and he'd be totally fine.

he doesn't do anything well anymore. He's getting benched for a 6'0" PG on defence at the wing for fucks sake. did he hang out with demarre carroll too much or something?

[TheWaterboy]

The CFL is a joke, period. The rest of the country just doesn't get it.

Not saying this is you personally, but that sounds just like something someone who is bitter that Buffalo couldn't get relocated to Toronto would say, to which I would respond that there's no way that the NFL comes to Toronto as long as it's the sort of uber-macho wrapped-in-the-flag won-in-the-trenches league that it is.

There's also no way that the CFL will have the talent level of the NFL as long as NFL salaries are an order of magnitude higher than CFL salaries are, and CFL fans like me know this. No knowledgeable fan suggests otherwise, and the closest most of us get to indicating that the CFL is superior in any way is to say that we like three-down football better. (Seriously! I find the pace glacial and the increased emphasis on short rushes that the fourth down brings to the game boring. Your mileage may vary.)

Have you heard of the Winnipeg Goldeyes, by the way? They are my favorite baseball team, especially since the Jays' management turnover a couple years ago. They will never ever come close to beating an MLB team - the American Association in which they play isn't even AAA level - but they are still talented players, good people, interesting stories, and adopted Winnipegers, and the team is managed right and plays right. They are ours, and we enjoy and appreciate them, even though a baseball snob would barely acknowledge they exist. And the Goldeyes are a lot of fun to follow to boot. Toronto fans who can't acknowledge and enjoy their good, well-managed, interesting football team because it's not an NFL are the real joke here.

(Oh, and one more thing: the Goldeyes will be going for their third consecutive AA championship this season, and us Winnipeg fans are loving every minute of it.)

[Spark]

If it wasn't for Lou, Freddy might win 6th man lolll don't think he qualify for most improve lol We gotta sign Freddy back for sure

[golden]

It really is a bizarre strategy. They looked like one of those d league teams experimenting.

lol. That's exactly what I was thinking watching it: Reno Bighorns, or whatever that D-League team that Brady Heslip played for a few years ago. That's just a gimmick offense that you know isn't going to be sustainable in the Association.

[slaw]

man what the hell happened to norman powell?

all this guy had to do was be the exact same player he was last year and he'd be totally fine.

he doesn't do anything well anymore. He's getting benched for a 6'0" PG on defence at the wing for fucks sake. did he hang out with demarre carroll too much or something?

I'm convinced that the Raps like to push their young guys out of their comfort zone. That's why these guys get better year over year. With Powell, I think they may have pushed him too far and it didn't work and now he's in the death spiral where you fail at everything no matter what you try or do. If he could get a few good games in a row he'd snap out of it but that's really hard when you play on a good team that's deep and the margin for error is tiny.

[Machine]

man what the hell happened to norman powell?

all this guy had to do was be the exact same player he was last year and he'd be totally fine.

he doesn't do anything well anymore. He's getting benched for a 6'0" PG on defence at the wing for fucks sake. did he hang out with demarre carroll too much or something?

Powell needs to develop some new offensive moves. Everyone in the league has figured out that he has a quick first step and just puts blinders on to the rim. He needs counter moves and he needs some semblance of bball IQ. Until then he just needs to play D and not gamble so much and just catch and shoot on O.

[golden]

Powell needs to develop some new offensive moves. Everyone in the league has figured out that he has a quick first step and just puts blinders on to the rim. He needs counter moves and he needs some semblance of bball IQ. Until then he just needs to play D and not gamble so much while and just catch and shoot on O.

Yep. He needs a Euro-step, some signature finishing moves and counters at the rim, like maybe a simple spin-fadeaway like CoJo / Lowry. He also needs a better handle and some type of hesitation dribble. Basically, he needs to follow DeMar's off-season training program and get some old-man moves into his game. He really hasn't progressed beyond being a straight line driver. There's no trickery to his game whatsoever. Better handles would facilitate a lot of this.

[Demographic Shift]

Yep. He needs a Euro-step, some signature finishing moves and counters at the rim, like maybe a simple spin-fadeaway like CoJo / Lowry. He also needs a better handle and some type of hesitation dribble. Basically, he needs to follow DeMar's off-season training program and get some old-man moves into his game. He really hasn't progressed beyond being a straight line driver. There's no trickery to his game whatsoever. Better handles would facilitate a lot of this.

Mostly he needs this season to be over. Take a break from ball for a month. Do some charitable work in his hometown or overseas.
Come back and start preparing for next season mentally instead of working out for 14 hours a day. There’s a ball player in there..he just made a wrong turn this year. Powell will be back.